Overview
Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club
Between Comelico and Carnia, on the border between Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sappada is a mountain resort set against the splendid backdrop of the Dolomites, where the river Piave, considered sacred to the Italian nation, has its source.
The municipality is made up of 15 scattered hamlets, each of which has several examples of traditional Sappada houses, made of wood using the traditional 'block' technique, as a reminder of the historic rural architecture. In the village, there is a very strong sense of identity and belonging to the local German-speaking culture (there is also an association, Plodar, which since 1995 has been working to preserve and develop it), which has left its mark on the language ,traditions, habits and customs.
The three museums are worth seeing: the " Giuseppe Fontana" ethnographicmuseum, which documents the history of the work and culture of the valley; the ancient Puicher s'Kottlars house, a mid-nineteenth-century wooden house that has become a house-museum of rural civilisation, in which the spaces of the houses of the past have been reconstructed; and the Small Museum of the Great War, created by the passion of two collectors, with finds, uniforms, tools and field stoves belonging to Italian and Austrian soldiers during the First World War.
Traditional, evocative and well-known is the Sappadino Carnival, which takes place over several days with disguises, skits, parades. The beautiful wooden masks are carved by expert local artisans (such as young Manuel Graz Cesco), while the most typical character of the Carnival, which has also become a symbol of Sappada
, is theRollate, who is responsible for opening and closing the parades and to whom Fat Monday is entirely dedicated.Some of the local dishes are also linked to the Carnival, especially desserts: pancakes , krischkilan (a kind of fried pastry) , hosenearlan (a local version of Belluno chestnuts), mognkròpfn (with a poppy filling). You can also enjoy the typical
Sappada cheese, at the Plodar Kelder dairy or at the Mondschein and Laite restaurants.
